It’s time for us to converse with tolerance for opposing views

By Javon Walker

I know we’re in Canada, but this Trump roller coaster is one hell of a ride.

Everyone is still in uproar over the executive order to keep out any visitors from seven Muslim nations, and Trump supporters are being painted in an ever worse light as the days pass.

It’s ironic that the United States is the most divided country in the western world.

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton divided the country to an extreme when she said half of Trump supporters were “deplorables”. I’d always thought Clinton was just a mouthpiece for whatever was popular at the time, but having a leading contender for presidency say this out loud was wrong for so many reasons.

After this, people started taking things to another level by publicly crucifying anyone who showed an ounce of support for the Republicans.

When you punish, attack and condemn someone for their personal views, the only thing you accomplish is to make the person hide their true feelings. This is why all the polls had Clinton winning.

Almost 63 million people voted for Donald Trump. There’s no doubt that there’s going to be homophobes, racists and sexists amongst that group, but that statement could be true for any political party. Instead of making sweeping generalizations, why doesn’t anyone ask why these people were Republicans or Trump supporters?

Have we really reached a point where political dialogue has dissolved? To the point where we can’t talk about things or understand each other? There are too many extremes and no middle ground.

You can see this problem on just about any major online publication’s comments section. Arguments would get so heated on these political issues that most websites have to remove the commenting feature altogether.

At the end of the day, despite everyone having their own attitudes and beliefs, it’s silly to allow something man-made like political parties to separate us as individuals. Instead of being loyal to parties, let’s be loyal to ourselves and understand one another.

We’re in an age where critical thinking is more important than ever before. We’re experiencing a Butterfly Effect here in Canada, where the winds of change in America are going to create a storm here before we know it. We can see it already with the waves Kevin O’Leary is making in the political stratosphere.

Before it’s too late, let us have a conversation. Let’s understand each other. And maybe – just maybe – we don’t need to be taken for the same ride America is on.